A LOVING mam today relived the horrifying moment her infant daughter died as she cradled her.

A LOVING mam today relived the horrifying moment her infant daughter died as she cradled her.

Anna Shields lost her 17-month-old ‘shining star’ Maddie in December, and she and partner Martin Butterfield, 30, are still struggling to cope with their grief.

Anna, of Finchale Road, Hebburn, South Tyneside, had been cradling the unwell youngster in the living room of their home when tragedy struck.

She had taken the baby to doctors with a runny nose and did not suspect anything else could be wrong.

“It is your worst nightmare,” said the 25-year-old.

“It was the fact we were losing her and the fact we didn’t know what it was.

“I just gave her a kiss and she died.

“I was holding her just as you do when your child isn’t well, and I just remember screaming.”

Anna began carrying out CPR in a desperate bid to save her daughter while an ambulance raced to the scene.

Medics made every effort to save the youngster, but to no avail, and she was pronounced dead.

Doctors were later to tell Anna, Maddie’s dad Martin Butterfield, 30, and little sister Codie, seven, the youngster was suffering from the heart defect Alcapa (Anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery), a rare condition near-impossible to detect until it’s too late.

The defect is usually present from birth and means that a youngster’s heart does not grow properly, often leading to problems later in life.

There are only a handful of people to have suffered from Alcapa in the North East.

“It has been so hard,” said Anna.

“It feels like we are floating through life. There is a dark cloud over us all the time.

“It’s hard to believe she is dead and she isn’t coming back.”

But, the family has found one thing is bringing them comfort, fundraising to help other children suffering from heart conditions.

With table-top sales and charity events, the couple already raised £2,700 for Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital and, later this week, will hand over a cheque for £5,000 donated by Needham Court care home in Jarrow.

The full-time mother said: “We want it to go into research so doctors can find better ways of finding out about heart defects.

“We want to raise money so that if the hospital needs better equipment to help keep children alive or just to make them feel more comfortable when they’re poorly they can have it.

“They need all the money they can get.”

Anna and Martin, who also plan to campaign for heart screening for youngsters, welcome help with their fundraising mission.